The latest news from around the world with host Brooke Baldwin. The elements of a crime. I had cases trying to plead guilty and he said what you said is not a crime, i am not accepting your plea. Yesterday, heard what Michael Cohen said, said that is a crime, i accept your guilty plea. When they say he wasnt implicated in the cohen plea deal, john, is that a lie . Well, actually the president was not named in the indictment or in the plea agreement. Michael cohen did an audible during his allocution, said the president directed me to do it, not in the documents that were signed. That came as a big surprise. The bottom line is Michael Cohen admitted to a crime, rather than take a bullet for the president , he shot a seering missile. Right now, the white house is not articulating a defense. Rule one. Dont allow your client to speak. The more President Trump speaks, the worse it gets. What do you make of his defense . It is not a valid defense. Three defenses the white house has to make. Number one, Michael Cohen is not credible. Number two, the president should say i relied on my lawyer to take care of this legal mum bow jumbo and Cohen Strcrewed it up. This was not related to the campaign, it was personal. Trump wanted it secret, it is the john edwards defense. They need a defense. Cohen may not be done yet either. He had put himself out there, his attorney lanny davis suggested that he has more to tell to the Special Counsel, and to congress. In fact, he is even talking about testifying without i am unlt in immunity in front of congress. Lanny davis hitting the talk shows saying cohen has information to share with the Special Counsel that hes alleged that cohen knows that trump knew about the hack of the dnc before it became public. We dont know theres anything to substantiate that. Direct knowledge when and if he discusses this with the Special Counsel. Whats your reaction to that . The biggest question out of yesterday, will Michael Cohen cooperate with Southern District of new york and or the mueller team. It takes two. Both sides have to be willing. Clearly lanny davis is outright saying were ready, he wants to come in and cooperate. The question is, there are two questions. Does the Southern District want to cooperate him. If i was in their shoes, i would hear him out, lets hear him out. The big issue, can they corroborate him, back him up. It is one thing to have Michael Cohen say he knew about the emails beforehand, you cannot bank a criminal charge on uncorroborated word of a problematic cooperating witness like Michael Cohen with a lot of baggage himself. What is going to determine this ball of wax, can Southern District find something, email,
independent witness to back it up. They say they have a witness to back it up that cohen was directed by then candidate trump, and point to all of the things the fbi was able to confiscate when they raided his Properties Previously from recordings to emails to text messages, even encrypted texts sent in exchange. They seem to think they have quite a bit of ammunition. Bigger picture, if i step back, in the Southern District if trump were not the sitting president of the United States, would he be indicted now . I dont think just yet. Southern district is careful. Theyre not bringing a case until they do a full investigation. One of the areas to look at are the executives in the Trump Organization that apparently approve of payments. Thats a fruitful area of analysis. Were just seeing the tip of the iceberg. We dont know what the Southern District investigation is in its
totality. One thing if i was President Trump and his team, i would be very concerned. And quickly, because cohen says he has more he could tell mueller, one, why Hasnt Mueller already talked to him if he already has all of this extra information, but two, what could cohen know that mueller would find useful . One reason we think that mueller never spoke to cohen is because cohen was the target, and target of a Southern District investigation. It would have been legal j jeopardy to talk to him and he probably wouldnt have, and certainly wouldnt go before a grand jury. But he could be interested for a number of reasons. He was one of the people at the Trump Organization that floated the idea of building a trump tower Branded Hotel in moscow, had many conversations, attempts at conversations there. Has been with trump over ten years. He knows where the bodies are buried. He defines himself as trumps fixer, he solves his problems. He knows a lot about trump and
how the Trump Organization works, how the money flows and the real estate deals. If mueller had any information that would lead him down those paths, particularly the trump tower moscow, that would be an avenue he would want to talk to him about. Theres also been reporting that cohen, implying cohen knew that trump knew about the meeting with the russian lawyer at the trump tower, and of course the statements about that meeting are now in question. That would be another area they would be worth probing, Whether Cohen has the goods on any of these things remains to be seen, but these are some of the flags of areas we have seen come up that he could be interested in talking to cohen, at least seeing whats in the documents, see if he has anything to corroborate what he is saying. Let me say, too, Paul Manafort, not just cohen we are talking about in the last 24 news thats been shaking. Trump tweeting today about
manafort this morning, he writes i feel very badly for Paul Manafort and his wonderful family. Justice which he puts in quotes took a 12yearold tax case among other things, applied tremendo tremendous pressure, and unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to break, make up stories to get a deal. Such respect for a brave man. Based on the tweet, lets say he pardons manafort. Is that Obstruction Of Justice . Whenever you pardon somebody, youre undermining the judicial process, youre undermining a prosecution. It is a sign the president is trying to do what he can to undermine muellers investigation. I think it would be evident of his intent, but i dont think the pardon would be used by mueller as an act of obstruction. In other words, theres Plenty Of Acts Mueller could and will point to as obstruction by the
president , for example, firing of james comey, his orders, for example, to fire mueller himself or to try to get sessions to unrecuse himself, et cetera. I think he will focus on those as obstructionist acts because i think theyre more clear, but use this to show trumps intent. And certainly what you see here is a man, the president who claimed to be a Law And Order candidate, sounds more like a criminal whos pleased one of his henchmen remains silent rather than in Law And Order. Manafort could still make some deal to get his sentencing down, right, if he were to start cooperating with muellers team if he had something useful for them . No question. If theres not a pardon on the table, and i represented Paul Manafort, i would say you need to cut a deal right away. Get the d. C. Case wrapped up in district of columbia, get that wrapped into the virginia case,
try to get some sort of deal to get judge ellis to handle the whole thing, get a reduced sentence. Stand by. One of the reporters that broke the Watergate Scandal joins us next. I will ask Carl Bernstein how it compares and could impeachment be a reality. And President Trump will be at a Medal Of Honor ceremony at the white house. We will take you there live. But allstate helps you. With drivewise. Feedback that helps you drive safer. And that can lower your cost now that you know the truth. Are you in good hands . Anncr as you grow older, your brain naturally begins to change which may cause trouble with recall. Learning from him is great. When i can keep up anncr thankfully, prevagen helps your brain and improves memory. Dads got all the answers. Anncr prevagen is now the numberoneselling brain Health Supplement in drug stores nationwide. She outsmarts me every single time. Checkmate you wanna play again . Anncr prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. Ive been Making Blades here at gillette for 20 years. I bet im the first blade maker youve ever met. Theres a lot of innovation that goes into making
our thinnest longest lasting blades on the market. Precision machinery and highquality materials from around the world. Nobody else even comes close. Its about delivering a more comfortable shave every time. Invented in boston, made and sold around the world. Order now at gilletteondemand. Com. Gillette. The best a man can get. Im all about my bed. This mattress is dangerously comfortable. When i get in, i literally say ahh. Introducing the Leesa Mattress. A better place to sleep. The Leesa Mattress is designed to provide strong support, relieve pressure and optimize air flow to keep you cool. Today is gonna be great. Read our reviews then try the Leesa Mattress in your own home. Order now and get 150 off, and free shipping, too. Go to buyleesa. Com today. You need this bed. Impeachment as a tangible possibility. Lets talk about it more with one of the reporters that broke the Watergate Scandal that led to president nixons resignation. Carl bernstein is joining us. You said this is worse than watergate, but the difference is the political climate. Listen to senator bob corker today. I cant imagine people who are familiar with whats been going on at the white house are particularly surprised, but i realize the actual statement of yesterday is it makes it real. Carl, what is the responsibility of republicans in all of this . Well, certainly the republicans on capitol hill have been craven and have enabled trumps coverup, they have enabled his continuing lie without calling him in to
account and they may or may not pay dearly in terms of their political lives, but this is a moment of truth for the Republican Party. They do not have to condemn or come to the aid of donald trump but people on capitol hill in the Republican Party need to say we are for the rule of law and this president has shown in the last week particularly his utter contempt for the rule of law. I know that viewers at home see the developments, legal cases, and are asking Where Do We Go From Here . I think it is not a time to be crystal balling. I think we in the media particularly as well as people watching at home need to be focusing on the actions and words of the president of the United States, and particularly in regard to the mueller
investigation. It is important to this country and its future that the Mueller Investigation which is a by The Book Nonleaking Credible Law Abiding Operation be permitted to finish its work. And then the American People can know much more about the underlying facts, but what we are seeing now is a kind of Sewage Seeping up from the white house swamp, particularly in what we are watching from donald trump, holding out, dangling a Pardon Possibility in front of Paul Manafort. It is unspeakable to watch this. I cant remember anything in our history let me finish, if i may. His words about brave Paul Manafort and the offense that has been committed against paul
manafort and his fine family and all the rest is extraordinary and i dont think any serious person and certainly no serious lawyer or Justice Department official that i know of thinks it is anything but an attempt to dangle a pardon, and a speaker on our air a few minutes ago said he doubted it was part of Obstruction Of Justice. Im not sure that i would agree with that. That the act of offering and signaling a pardon at this moment, he has every right to pardon any person he wants to, but the act of signaling it at this point might well be a real part of a pattern of obstruction as well as obstruction in itself. And apologies for stepping on you. Theres a little bit of a delay with our transmission here. When you talk about the president s reaction this morning, he did put out that
tweet really praising Paul Manafort showing that he has empathy for his case, calling him a brave man. We also heard him try to explain the Michael Cohen situation and virtually sweep it under the rug saying i paid for it and there was no Campaign Finance violation. Is this what you expected in terms of reaction from the president . Ive come to expect nothing but evasion and untreat from untruth from the president of the United States, the assertion he continually makes, no collusion, no collusion, no collusion. There seems to be considerable evidence of collusion. Perhaps by his National Security adviser, michael flynn, perhaps by his son in the trump tower meeting which was an invitation to collusion extended to his son and accepted with relish by
donald trump jr. The question is does Collusion Envelope donald trump himself or just members of his circle and campaign, and again, we have a long way to go here in terms of knowing the facts. Lets wait for mr. Mueller to give us the facts. But it is very important to realize that those of us that are reporters talking to people in the white house know that right now, donald trump is raging, that people around him regard his rages as bizarre at this point, and also that he is determined that the Mueller Investigation in some way be shut down so that there can be no chance that his presidency is shut down. Carl bernstein, great to have you with us. Thank you so much for being here. Up next, im be joined live by a White House Reporter who was on Air Force One as all of the news was breaking less than
24 hours ago. Hear what it was like to be inside the trump bubble. Now im gonna tell my momma that im a traveller transitions™ light under control™
the first survivor of alzis out there. Ase and the Alzheimers Association is going to make it happen. But we wont get there without you. Join the fight with the Alzheimers Association. Booking a flight doesnt have to be expensive. Just go to priceline. Its the best place to book a flight a few days before my trip and still save up to 40 . Just tap and go. For the best savings on flights, go to priceline. Tap one little bumper and up go your rates. What good is your insurance if you get punished for using it . News flash nobodys perfect. For drivers with accident forgiveness, Liberty Mutual wont raise your rates due to your first accident. Switch and you could save 782 on home and auto insurance. Call for a free quote today. Liberty mutual insurance. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Picture this. The president had just boarded Air Force One, the plane throttling for takeoff when news breaks on two criminal cases involving people who were once
in his inner circle, trumps former attorney, long time fixer Michael Cohen pleading guilty to 8 charges, implicating the president in a crime. Trumps former Campaign Chair Paul Manafort found guilty on 8 counts. As this news sinks in, the next 100 minutes, unusually quiet on Air Force One. Joining us now, a journalist that was on board that flight, politico White House Reporter lorraine woolert. You were the Pool Reporter yesterday on Air Force One. You said my window seat on Air Force One was like a prison. Explain. When youre on Air Force One, you dont have access to your phone or wifi, so youre literally in an information bubble. We did have a feed from fox news coming over the tv monitors on the plane, but we werent able to communicate, couldnt get emails or news alerts, and couldnt send anything out. And of course the president didnt come back to talk to the press on the plane, which is typical, so yeah. We took off just as all of this stuff was happening. What was conversation like . Was there a conversation that you were overhearing, was the press talking amongst themselves . You were the Pool Reporter. I mean set the scene a little more for us. So i was one of two Pool Reporters that day and you know once the plane took off and we got into our bubble, it really was pretty quiet because at that point there was literally nothing we could do. To be honest, i had brought a book called born trump and read about an hour on the plane until we were able to get communications back online. So the plane itself, the flight itself was kind of quiet. It was after we landed that things got really nuts. What was going through your mind when youre like okay, i have no phone, but this news is breaking as you see it scrolling across the tv. Right. So obviously this was a historic day. The president implicated in potentially a crime and his Campaign Manager obviously found guilty, now a felon. So, you know, we were thinking this Campaign Event the president was going to could possibly blow up into something bigger and he did come over to talk to us when he got off the plane in charleston, west virginia, gave us a really brief appearance, maybe two minutes. He said some nice things about Paul Manafort and then got into his car. So thats when we started, i was getting like the Adrenaline Pumping at that point, were like all right, he is going to come in front of this crowd, it has been nothing but this for the last couple of hours on tv, hes got to talk about it at the event. He didnt. Minute by minute, you know, i was tracking the breaking news. And by the way, it wasnt just
manafort and cohen at that point, then we had a congressman who was an early trump supporter, duncan hunter, then facebook, Mark Zuckerberg came out, was talking about russia. Exactly. Let me play the sound from the president at his rally last night. The russian witch hunt, we have a whole big thing, where is the collusion. Theyre still looking for collusion. Where is the collusion . Find some collusion. So lorraine, real quick, heard him talk about collusion. He didnt say anything specific about cohen or manafort at the rally but are you hearing anything from Trump Supporters there reacting to news of the day yesterday . No. So that clip was the only reference to any of this from his entire speech last night and as your viewers may know, the press at the events is penned
into sort of a little cage, it is up to rally goers to talk to us. I was trying to wave people over to talk to me. Nobody wanted to talk about manafort or cohen. And one fellow who did speak to me was like eh, it is no big deal, people make mistakes. This one gentleman was more interested in talking about walter cronkite, how he missed days of Walter Cronkites tv. It was just not an issue at the rally, none of this. Thank you for letting us be a fly on the wall, walking us through the moments, what it was like for you as a journalist. Appreciate it. Thanks. Any moment now, President Trump is expected to honor an air force sergeant killed in battle in afghanistan. It will be the first Medal Of Honor for an air man since the vietnam war. We will take you to the white house live. Its time for the biggest sale of the year
and now, all beds are on sale. Save 50 on the new sleep number 360 limited Edition Smart bed. Plus, free home delivery. Ends saturday. Welcome back. Right now, the president about to award the Medal Of Honor. Lets watch. For those that desire, may you join me now in prayer. Holy father, we thank you for this day, for this National Recognition and for Technical Sergeant john chapman. Lord, we enter this esteemed ceremony with hearts filled with grief and pride. Our grief stems from the pain of johns sacrifice with six other courageous americans that lost their lives at takur ghar in Noble Service to our nation in the cause of Human Freedom and dignity. Our pride stems on this day, focused upon the man you created, gifted, empowered, with unconventional resolve to operate selflessly in protecting his family, his teammates, and the world from the evil of
terrorism. We thank you, lord, for the opportunity to honor john chapman with americas highest decoration for his heroic valor, to honor the enduring sacrifice his family carries deeply within their hearts, and to honor the legacy and inspiration john infused into the mission, the leadership, and the operations of Air Force Special Tactics. Lord, your just intent found fearless expression in john, even in the face of death so others may live. We thank you for john. We thank you for his family. We thank you for his unforgettable life and love shaped by your very spirit. Father, as we move forward this day, may your presence be tangibly known to johns precious family. As we move forward, may johns sacrifice motivate selfless duty to you, to country, and to
humanity. And as we move forward, may we give thanks for our great nation, our great military, and our great liberties that rest upon the bravery and blood of selfless patriots like Technical Sergeant john chapman. To this end, we pray. Amen. Thank you very much, please be seated. Thank you. Thank you, chaplain. Very well done. Beautiful. Were honored to be joined by members of congress, military leaders, distinguished guests from all across our nation. I want to recognize secretary of the air force, heather wilson. Thank you, heather, thank you. Air force Chief Of Staff david goldfang. Thank you. It has been 19 years i think, right, for the air force. Long time, very deserving. Air force undersecretary matthew donovan, air force vice Chief Of Staff, stephen wilson, and chief Master Sergeant of the air force, kathleen wright. I also want to thank va secretary robert wilke for joining us, and you are doing a great job. The vets are very happy. Hearing a lot of great reports. Thank you very much. Along with senators john boseman, richard blumenthal, bob casey, chris murphy, pat toomey, and representative matt gates and john larson. Thank you all for being here very much. Thank you all very much. Appreciate it. Were gathered together this afternoon to pay tribute to a fallen warrior, a great warrior, Technical Sergeant john chapman, and to award him our nations highest, most revered military
honor. Would you all please join me in welcoming a wonderful family that i just met in the oval office, the Chapman Family. Thank you. Please stand up. [ applause ] and to his beautiful wife, valerie, who agrees that he was a very brave man right from the beginning, right . You knew that. I know this day has truly brought special meaning. Exactly 26 years ago you married john. Today is our great honor to share his incredible story with the world, so thank you very much, valerie. Appreciate it. And to your daughters, madison
and brianna, we award your dad the congressional Medal Of Honor, and i know he is looking down on you right now from heaven, proud of this day, but even more proud of the incredible young women you have both become. Its great to know you. Great to have met you. Thank you. Were also grateful to be joined by johns wonderful mom terry, his sister lori, his brother kevin, and valeries parents, rita and jim novak. Thank you all for being here. Great honor. Thank you. [ applause ] and though she could not be here today, somebody that john loved very much, his sister tammy. Please give our regards. Thank you. I also want to recognize jack s suza, his teammate still recovering from recent severe injury. Jack, thank you for your Noble Service. Thank you very much. We appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you, jack. Appreciate it. [ applause ] looks like youre doing well, doing well. Thank you, jack. Finally, we salute the five congressional Medal Of Honor recipients that join us. Woody williams, harvey barnum, edward byers, byron thacker, britt slovinski. Please stand. [ applause ] brave people. Three months ago i awarded the
Medal Of Honor to brit for his heroic actions in the same battle we are remembering today. John chapman grew up in windsor locks, connecticut. From a very young age, john was determined to protect those in need. In kindergarten, john noticed his classmate, bill brooks, was being bullied. As bill says, john stepped in and saved me. In his high school yearbook, john quoted these words, give yourself before taking of someone else. Very farsighted. John lived by that motto every single day. Everybody that knew him said thats the way he lived. Two years after he graduated High School John enlisted in the United States air force. He was among the elite few to complete Air Force Special Tactics training, one of the most rigorous Training Programs in all of the military. John became an expert in deploying undetected onto the battlefield to set up air fields and direct fire support. Now john will become the First Special Tactics Airman to receive the congressional Medal Of Honor. John met valerie in pennsylvania while he was training with the army. It was a big day. Good day, right sm they married in 1992 right . They married in 1992, soon grew into a beautiful family. Whenever john was home, he immediately took on dad duty, reading to the girls, playing with them, even building an amazing swing set. Do you remember that . Long time ago, a swing set. Soon after the Terror Attacks of september 11, john volunteered to deploy to afghanistan. He walked into his superiors
office and said i need to go. In one of the most harrowing engagements of operation, enduring freedom, john was part of a highly trained team on a Combat Mission to establish a secure position on the peak of takur ghar mountain. In the Early Morning of march 4, 2002, john and his teammates were preparing to land onto the mountain when their helicopter was struck by Heavy Machine Gunfire, and a rocket propelled grenade. They were under serious attack. As the helicopter lurched away, Petty Officer First Class neil roberts was flung out of the aircraft and onto the top of the mountain as the Helicopter Crash landed into the valley below. A horrific crash. The team survived the crash, and without hesitation they volunteered to return to the
mountain. They wanted to get neil. They landed into a deep snow and Heavy Machine Gunfire coming from three different directions. Couldnt even see, so many bullets. Over 10,000 feet, they fought the enemy at the highest altitude of any battle in the history of the american military. John chapman was the first to charge up the mountain toward the enemy. He killed two terrorists and cleared out the first bunker. John left the safety of the first bunker to fire a second enemy grenade at another bunker. As john fired on the second bunker, he was shot and fell to the ground and lost consciousness. Even though he was mortally wounded, john regained consciousness and continued to fight on, and he really fought. We have proof of that fight. He
of that fight. Good genes. You have good genes. He was firing at the enemy bombarding him with rocketpropelled grenades. Despite facing overwhelming force, john battled on for over an hour as another american yik Reaction Force helicopter engaged. John provided covering fire and an attempt to prevent the enemy from shooting down the soldiers, airmen and that helicopter. In this final act of supreme courage, john gave his life for his fellow warriors. Through his extraordinary sacrifice, john helped save more than 20 American Service members, some of whom are here today. And i like to introduce them. Matthew lafranz. Please stand up. Thank you, sir. Sergeant major. [ applause ]
sergeant major raymond depaulie. Thank you, raymond. [ applause ] special tactics major gabriel brown. [ applause ] along with his team leader master chief Brit Slabinski [ applause ] thank you. Thank you all. And we also remember the six others who along with john gave their lives on that snowy, really, really cold afghan night. Petty officer first class neil roberts, specialist mark anderson, Sergeant Bradley krauss, Senior Airman jason cunningham, Technical Sergeant Phillip Svadin and corporal
matthew commons. Our country is rich with blessings but our greatest blessings of all are the patriots like john and all of you that stood and many of the people in this room. I exclude myself and a few of the politicians. Who like, john, carry our freedom on their shoulders, march into The Face Of Evil and fight to their very last breath so that we can live in freedom and safety and freedom and peace. Now it is my privilege to ask Valerie On Stage to accept the congressional Medal Of Honor on behalf of the hero she loved and the hero our nation will forever remember, Technical Sergeant john chapman. Thank you. Please. Please, valerie. Thank you. [ applause ]
would the military aide please come forward and read the citation . Thank you. The president of the United States of america has awarded In The Name Of Congress the Medal Of Honor posthumously to Technical Sergeant john a. Chapman, United States air force. For ga lantly at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. Technical Sergeant John a. Chapman distinguished himself through heroism as a special combat controller attached to a navy sea, air and land s. E. A. L. Team conducting operations in takur ghar, afghanistan, in 2002. The teams helicopter was ambushed, calling a teammate to fall in combatants below. The sergeant and the team voluntarily reinserted on to the
snowcapped mountain boo the heart of a known enemy stronghold. Without regard for his own safety, Sergeant Chapman immediately engaged, moving in the direction of the closest Enemy Position despite coming under heavy fire of multiple directions. He fearlessly charged an enemy bunker, up a sleep incline and into hostile fire engaging the enemy. Upon reaching the bunker, the sergeant assaulted and cleared the position killing all enemy occupants. With complete disregard for his own life, Sergeant Chapman deliberately moved from cover 12 meters from the enemy and exposed once again to attack a second bunker from which a Machine Gun Firing on his team. During this assault from an exposed position directly in the line of intense fire, Sergeant Chapman was struck and injured by enemy fire. Despite severe mortal wounds, he continued to fight relentlessly with a violent engagement of multiplen my personnel before
making the ultimate sacrifice. By his actions and extraordinary valor, sacrificing his life for the life of his teammates, Technical Sergeant chapman reflected great credit upon himself and the United States air force. [ applause ]
resolve that equally matched his war fighting skills. So others may live. As we conclude, may johns family be covered with your lavish love and peace. May the uniform Sons And Daughters of america know your empowerment and protection. And may you hasten the day, oh lord, where war will be no more. For your glory we pray, amen. And with that, with that, we honor a fallen hero. We salute the brave Sergeant John chapman, an airman who lost his life in 2002 in afghanistan as he tried to save his fellow troops. His family there to accept his med an on his behalf. The president honoring this airman with a special honor for the First Time Since the vietnam war. Again, our thoughts are with the Chapman Family today. Meantime, as we continue to follow the breaking news today, President Trump is responding today for the first time to Michael Cohen implicating him in federal crimes. The president s new explanation and admission about paying the women. Stand by
vimarsana.com © 2020. All Rights Reserved.